This is a very long running TV-show (10+ years) with many seasons. One common view is that the first seasons are great, then it becomes garbage. I decided to binge-watch in 2021 to make an opinion for myself.
What I will say is that season 1 is definitely the fastest paced season, reminiscent of typical Zombie films such as Dawn of the Dead with a simple "escape the undead" premise. After season 1, the pacing becomes very slow (lots of episodes, each 1 hour), and the story drags on and is more about watching the cast settle down in bases/single locations. It becomes a post-apoc survival show.
Personally, I very much enjoyed binge watching this entire show. I even prefered the later seasons than the first seasons. It felt enjoyable to watch a slower paced story of survival and base/world building by the core cast of the show, mainly Rick Grimes and his son Carl. The reason is that "escaping the zombies" and being stressed & running all the time, gets old. I liked the other aspects of post-apocalypse survival themes such as the danger of other human groups (Negan and the saviors, I really liked, the Negan actor is amazing and very charismatic).
One of the common views I read online is that the entire show is amazing if binge watched, as it forms one great story. However it was HELL for the people that watched a single episode per week/month, because often very little happens in each episode, dragging the seasons on forever. But binge watching a season makes for a nice "kick back & relax" TV show to enjoy.
So in conclusion, I would very much ignore the reviews that say "Only season 1 is great" and "anything after season 5 sucks". I would advise you binge watch from season 1, and stop when you no longer want to watch. For me, I just couldn't stop and really started to enjoy the show from season 6 onwards (when the "running from zombies" premise ends).
Overall, no matter one's opinion, one undeniable fact is that this is the QUINTESSENTIAL zombie TV show, with the number of seasons to match. It is simply epic and I cannot wait to see how season 11 concludes this story. Enjoyable through the dead. Just Watch it.
